Survey Shows Employment Law Weakness

The results of a new survey confirm growth in union membership but also identify the weaknesses in the Employment Relations Act's capacity to promote collective bargaining as it was intended to do, Council of Trade Unions president Ross Wilson said today.The annual survey by Victoria University's Industrial Relations Centre showed union membership had increased for the fourth year in a row.

However, it also said the ERA had not turned back the anti-union tide of the Employment Contracts Act, so large sections of the workforce were still disadvantaged by not being able to bargain collectively.

The report was further evidence for the need for amendments to strengthen the Act, as contained in the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill currently before Parliament, Ross Wilson said.

"Unless there is marked growth in collective bargaining, thousands of New Zealand workers will continue to be disadvantaged ? as yesterday's Human Rights Commission report confirmed."